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July 2025

Procurement Update Logo

Screenshot of Supplier Website

New Supplier Website

We are pleased to announce the launch of our Supplier Website!

The updated site features an intuitive layout and a wealth of resources to support every stage of the supplier process—from initial registration to ongoing record maintenance. Whether you're onboarding a new supplier or updating existing information, the site is designed to serve as a dependable and user-friendly reference guide.

To better serve our users, we’ve thoughtfully organized content for both department representatives and prospective or existing suppliers, ensuring that each group can quickly find the information most relevant to their needs.

Additionally, we’ve curated and published capability statements from a selection of registered suppliers, now available for viewing directly through the website. These statements offer valuable insights into the services and qualifications of our supplier community.

We encourage you to explore the new site and make it your go-to resource for all supplier-related activities.

Click Here to View the Supplier Website

Procurement Commodity Codes

Effective July 1, 2025, Procurement enabled commodity code functionality on Procurement transactions. Any Requisition or Purchase Order created on or after July 1st will require the commodity code field on each line item.

All Change Orders will require a commodity code, regardless of the Purchase Order date (current or past fiscal year). The Workday validation is built to ignore “fully received and fully invoiced” lines of a purchase order, all other lines will require a commodity code.

A job aid has been developed to offer tips & tricks as well as a commodity code cheat sheet with commonly used commodity codes based on LSU use cases, sample transactions, and/or suppliers. The job aid is located on the Workday UNSPSC Commodity Code webpage listed below.

Procurement has also developed a web form “Missing or Unknown -  UNSPSC Commodity Codes” to be used by departments to document instances of products not populating a UNSPSC commodity code from a Workday supplier punchout (B2B) catalogs and/or to document an instance of a commonly used product/service without an obvious UNSPSC commodity code.

LSU Procurement will utilize feedback received to work with Workday catalog suppliers to update their product mapping (if possible) and update job aids/training materials posted on the LSU Procurement website.

Click Here to View Information on Commodity Codes

Final Push: Tagging FY25 Acquisitions

The end of the fiscal year always brings an influx of newly purchased assets. Throughout July, Property Management will be working diligently to tag and register all qualified assets to meet our financial reporting obligations in early August. Asset Specialists will be reaching out to coordinate with departments. Please instruct all staff and faculty to respond promptly and be ready to assist.

Property Management 2025 Inventory Schedule


Memberships

Only one (1) institutional membership in the name of the university or in the name of a university department is permitted.

The purchase of individual memberships in professional societies and organizations with university funds is also permitted if the member clearly demonstrates that the membership in such an organization assists the department, faculty or staff in efficiently executing the functions and responsibilities of their job and is related to the departmental mission. Individual memberships may only be paid one year at a time, and payment for multiple years at once is not allowed.

Note: Memberships may not be an allowable charge on a grant or contract. Please check with Sponsored Program Accounting to see if individual memberships are an allowable charge to the grant or contract.

Paying by P-Card

Memberships with the approval of the appropriate Dean, Director, or Department Head may be paid with the LaCarte Purchasing Card and in accordance with the dollar limits of the card - Use Membership Dues Expense Item (SC0021).

Paying by Invoice

Membership invoices will require the approval of the appropriate Dean, Director, or Department Head and can be sent directly to Accounts Payable for processing.


Reminder: Mass Cleanup Dates

Procurement has begun mass cancellation/close processes to help keep Workday data current and the system operating efficiently. Please be sure to check the status of your transactions prior to requesting cancellation or closure to ensure action is needed.

Screenshot of Mass Actions Schedule

Click Here to View the Mass Cleanup Actions Schedule

HP Replacement Printers

In an effort to upgrade outdated printing infrastructure on campus with more efficient and sustainable solutions, LSU Procurement is offering to replace campus departments desktop printers at no cost. Contact us by July 30th at purchase@lsu.edu for more details. 


New/Renewed Master Contracts

  • Krueger International (Furniture) - Renewed and renegotiated
  • OFS Brands (Furniture) - Renewed and renegotiated
  • Riddell (Sports/Athletic Equipment) - New contract

New Workday B2B Catalog Supplier

Staples Business Logo

 

Staples Business is being added in addition to ODP Business Solutions, this will ensure university end users competitive pricing and additional availability of office supplies across all campuses.

The Staples Business catalog will be live in Workday on Monday, July 21st.


Prompt Payment Terms/Early Payment Discounts

Kudos to you! LSU departments retained $296,944.29 in their budgets during Fiscal Year 2025 (7/1/2024 – 6/30/2025) by promptly receiving and paying invoices.

Approximately $139,502.43 was lost by not paying within the prompt payment/early payment discount timeframe.

Best practice reminders: 

  • Suppliers should be sending invoices directly to LSU Accounts Payable & Travel at aptravel@lsu.edu.
    • If Suppliers are sending invoices to department end users, it drastically reduces the opportunity for the invoice to get reviewed, transferred to Accounts Payable, loaded into Workday and paid within the prompt payment term timeframe.
  • Departments are reminded to review deliveries and approve/process LSU master contract and Workday B2B catalog supplier invoices timely.

Procurement Reminders

  • Create Contract/Agreement Requisition Type: Contracts to be paid on LaCarte or where there is no cost should be routed to Procurement using the Create Contract/Agreement (CCA) requisition type. This will ensure the document follows the Workday business processes for approval and that the contract is stored in Workday. In the event the supplier is not a registered supplier in Workday, use SPL-18983 (Louisiana State University and A & M College – Procurement) as a placeholder and list the supplier’s name in the internal memo field. 

  • Licenses, Certifications, Permits, etc. referenced in Solicitations: Departments are responsible for ensuring that all technical specifications are adequate and meet the requirements of their procurement. This includes ensuring that any necessary licenses, certifications, permits, etc. are listed in the bid specifications. If a question arises as to whether a license, certification, permit, etc. is required for the scope of work, it is the department’s responsibility, as the experts in the matter, to contact the appropriate external agency for clarification.

  • Award Recommendations for Solicitations: In competitive solicitations, Procurement tabulates supplier bids in the bid tabulation portal. The Requisition Requester is notified via email from LSU BPM when an RFQ is assigned to them as the Department Reviewer. Bid responses are sent separately by the Sourcing Buyer for convenience and the department must reply to this email with their award recommendation. The Sourcing Buyer cannot access the bid tab until the Department Reviewer returns it by clicking the "Route to Sourcing Buyer" button. The Buyer receives an email from LSU BPM once the bid tab is returned but cannot proceed without the department's email award recommendation.

  • Supplier Email Addresses on the Proposed Suppliers Form: The department must ensure all information on the Proposed Supplier Form, especially supplier email addresses, is accurate and up to date. Suppliers often fail to update their contact information, leading to invalid emails and delayed responses to solicitations. If an email is undeliverable, Procurement will ask the department for a valid address. Departments should verify all email addresses on the form before submission.


If you have an item you’d like to see included in a future edition of Procurement Update, please email your suggestion to purchase@lsu.edu.